Richardson, Sanders push liberals

Two prominent liberals on Sunday joined a chorus of Democratic Party leaders arguing that liberal voters must get their heads in the game before the midterm elections, but one also argued that President Barack Obama must show more “urgency” and make it happen.

“We have a very serious situation, and I think there’s a concern that the president hasn’t seen that urgency,” Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

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Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, said the president’s accomplishments during the past two years are “nothing to sneeze at,” but he has yet to stand “up for the American people the way we would like him to,” even though he campaigned on a “progressive agenda to expand the middle class.”

Appearing with Sanders, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said it was up to Democratic supporters to cease what he called their “internal carping” over the party’s legislative accomplishments and present a unified case for Democrats’ return to power. Some liberal Democrats are frustrated over what they see as White House compromises with Republicans on big agenda items like health care and don’t believe Obama has fought hard enough for their principles.

“It’s important that liberals, conservatives, moderates and the Democratic Party basically stop complaining and realize that we have a month to go. We’ve had some gains in the last month since Labor Day. But this is when voters are paying attention,” Richardson said on the program.

Richardson also said the bickering plays into the hands of Republicans.

“If there’s one message that I want to send, it is that we should stop firing at each other. We’ve got enough people, the Republicans, firing at us already. So we’re not — we don’t need these divisions in the party.”

But Richardson said Democrats also need to drive attention to Republican weaknesses and criticized party leaders for taking a kid-gloves approach toward the tea party.